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PATBNTED JAN. '20, 1903.

E. BOSTOGK, JE-

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APPLICATION FILED mm 22, 1897.

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UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN BOSTOCK, JR, OF STAFFORD, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO OLIVER AMMI MILLER, OF BROOKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 718,946, dated January 20, 1903.

Application filed June 22,1897. Serial No. 641,817. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN BosTooK, J12, shoe manufacturer, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Stafford, England, (whose post-office address is Boot & Shoe Manufactory, Stalford, England,) have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lasts, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in lasts and boot-trees of the kind which consist of a fore-part section and a heel-section hinged together.

One object of the said invention is to provide an improved hinge for connecting to gether the said sections whereby greater strength and durability are obtained than heretofore.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement of stops or complemental bearing-faces on the two sections, which determine the relative positions of the sections when they are operatively related to each other.

A further object of the invention is to strengthen the last to resist lateral or wrenching strains and prevent said strains from being supported entirely by the hinge connecting the two sections.

Theinvention consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.-

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a last embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 represents a perspective View of the two main parts of the last separated from each other. Fig. 3 represents a front elevation of the heel-section of the last.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, A and B represent, re-

spectively, the fore-part and heel sections of the last, the former of which is provided with a projection or extension A adapted to fit into a corresponding recess in the heel-section.

C is the cylindrical hinge-block, which is secured to the heel-section of the last by screws 0.

A is the recess in the portion of the last which receives the block 0 and forms a hingejoint therewith. When the parts are assembled, the block. 0 is passed endwise into this recess and is secured in position by a screw D, which is inserted into the portion A of the last in such a manner that it projects tangentially into a groove C in the block O. The mouth of the recess Athat is to say, the gap between the points 2 3-is less than the diameter of the block 0 to prevent the latter from being withdrawn otherwise than by an endwise movement.

A is the dowel-pin secured to one of the sections of the last and adapted to enter a socket formed for its reception in the other section for preventing the sections from turning relatively to each other and for strengthening the last to resist lateral or wrenching stress. This dowel-pin is in the example shown secured in the projection A of the forepart section of the last, the socket being in the heel-section thereof. Obviously, however, this arrangement might be reversed, or two or more dowel-pins might be used. The dowel-pin is approximately tangential to a circle struck from the center of the hinge. The socket which receives the pin is shaped to correspond to the arrangement of the pin, so that when the two sections are operatively related, as shown in full lines in Fig.1, a movement of either section tending to shorten the last will first cause the socket to bind on the pin,and thus sufficiently resistsuch movement to prevent it from occurring accidentally or by gravitation, a certain degree of force being required to displace either section from its operative relation with the other section. It will be seen that the projection A extends rearwardly from the hinge that connects the sections of the last and forms a bearing-surface for the heel-section between the hinge and the heel end of the last. The heel-section is recessed to receive the projection A and form a complemental bearing-surface B, which bears upon the bearing-surface of the projection A when the two sections are operatively related. These complemental bearing-surfaces, extending rearwardly from the hinge toward the heel end of the last, may be made of any desired length, and therefore can be relied upon to more effectually determine the operative relation of the two sections than would be the case if the fore-part section were cut away vertically below the hinge to form a vertical bearing-face extending to the bottom of the last, there being much less stock between the hinge and the bottom of the last to be utilized in the formation of reciprocal bearing surfaces or stops. The rearwardlyprojecting extension A with its bearing-face and the complemental bearing-surface B of the last, are also utilized in supporting the interlocking members namely, the dowelpin A and its socket-at points between the hinge and the heel end of the last. It will be seen that these interlocking members cooperate with the hinge in supporting or resisting lateral or wrenching strains, preventing such strains from being borne entirely by the hinge, so that there is less liability of breakage of or injury to the hinge by reason of the said interlocking members than there would be without them.

I claim 1. A wooden last comprising a fore-part section and a heel-section, one section being formed with a pivotal recess having a contracted opening, the other section being formed with a member larger than the opening in said recess but adapted to fit in said recess, whereby these said parts are pivotally secured together.

2. In a wooden last, the combination of a heel-piece, a cylindrical wooden rod secured transversely thereto and having its ends flush with the sides of the last, an annular recess formed in said rod, a toe-piece having a cylindrical hole or socket formed transversely therein at its rear end, said hole being constructed to receive the cylindrical rod aforesaid, and a pin secured in the toe-piece and working in the annular recess aforesaid to prevent lateral movement ofthe toe-piece with respect to the heel-piece, substantially as described.

3. A last comprising a fore-part section, a heel-section, a hinge articulately connecting said sections, a projection on the forepart section extending rearwardly from the hinge and presenting a bearing-face to the heel-section, the latter being recessed to receive said projection and provide a complemental bearing-surface, and separable interlocking members on the said projection and heel-section, whereby the sections are locked together behind the hinge when the sections are operatively related. I

4. The improved last consisting of two parts connected together by a hinge, said hinge separable by a relative lateral movement of said parts in line with its axis, and a stop carried by one of the parts and engaging the other part to prevent such movement and thereby prevent their separation.

5. The improved last consisting of toe and heel parts, the one having a socket and the other having a tenon engaging said socket and forming a hinge on which the parts can fold, said hinge separable by a movement in line with its axis, and. a stop for preventing separation of the hinge consisting of a catch carried by one of said parts, engaging the other of said parts, and adapted to prevent said movement.

6. A last consisting of toe and heel parts united by a hinge constructed as a cylindrical recess in one part and a cylindrical tenon formed on the other, entering laterally into said recess, with a stop on one part of said hinge entering directly a cavity in the other part thereof to prevent lateral displace ment of the parts.

7. A sectional last having an open-mouth aperture in one part thereof, the distance between the walls of which aperture is greater than the open mouth thereof, and a hinge member connected to another section and provided with an enlargement adapted to be inserted sidewise in the said aperture and prevented from longitudinal separation by the engagement of said hinge member with the walls of the aperture.

8. A last composed of a plurality of sections, including in the construction an openmouth aperture, the distance between the walls of which aperture is greater than the open mouth thereof, and a hinge member adapted to be inserted sidewise into said aperture, and being of sufficient enlargement to prevent withdrawal through the open mouth of the aperture.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 27th day of April, 1897.

EDWIN BOSTOCK, JUR.

Witnesses:

ERNEST HARKER, FRANK I-I. SOUTHAM. 

